OVERVIEW – GLIAC TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

EVENT: 2018 GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships

LOCATION: Dwight Schar Athletic Complex, Ashland University – Ashland, Ohio

RECAP: An impressive GLIAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships for the Northwood men and women saw the track and field teams walk away with nine podium finishes, multiple place-winning performances, and a handful of new NCAA provisional qualifying marks Thursday-Friday (May 3-4).

INSIDE THE MEET

MEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• Senior Paul Evans had a stellar close to his final GLIAC Championship meet. On Thursday in the discus, he made the finals of the event with a seasonal best toss of 51.27 meters (168 feet-2 inches). He bettered his mark on his final throw with a NCAA provisional qualifying distance of 52.57 meters (172 feet-6 inches) to solidify his third-place finish in the event. Evans's third-place finish was his first All-GLIAC podium finish in his career at the GLIAC Championships and his third GLIAC place-winning performance in the discus.
• Evans also added a fifth-place finish in the hammer throw with a distance of 58.46 meters (191 feet-9 inches), once again surpassing the NCAA provisional mark. He wraps up his GLIAC career as a two-time place-winner in the hammer
• True freshman Mason Phillips continued his strong campaign in his GLIAC Outdoor Championships debut. His weekend started with a second-place finish in the long jump with a NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 7.50 meters (24 feet-7.25 inches), breaking the previous school record of 7.44 meters set by Henry Russell in 1995.
• On the track, Phillips qualified for the finals in the 100m and 200m dashes. Phillips first qualified for the finals of the 100m dash in an improved NCAA provisional time of 10.46 seconds. Then he returned to run a blazing wind-legal 21.02 seconds 200 meter prelims. Phillips followed up in the finals of the 100 meters with a seventh-place finish (10.55) and earned All-GLIAC honors with a third-place finish in the 200 meters (21.11)
• Sophomore Christopher Bent had an outstanding meet and scored his first GLIAC conference points. He qualified for the finals of the 100 meters (10.51 seconds) and 200 meters (21.37 seconds). During the finals of those events, he claimed a third-place All-GLIAC performance of 10.30 in the 100 meter and a fourth-place finish in the 200 meter, crossing the line at 21.16 seconds. Both times serve as all-conditions PRs.
• Sophomore Austin Hamlet picked up his first conference points in the 100 meter dash, qualifying for the finals in 10.74 seconds and finishing eighth in the finals (10.70 seconds).
• Junior Rami Gharsalli qualified for the finals of the 110-meter hurdles in a NCAA provisional mark of 14.17. He followed that performance up with an improved season best and NCAA qualifying time of 14.03 for an All-GLIAC third-place performance. His finish at the meet is good for his second All-GLIAC performance after winning the event at last year's championships.
• The 4x100 relay team of Gharsalli, Bent, Hamlet, and Phillips earned All-GLIAC accolades after a third-place finish in a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 41.08 seconds.
• Sophomore Trestin Mancillas-Finnerty qualified for the finals of the 1500-meter run with times of 4:08.05. In a slow and strategic final, Mancillas-Finnerty finished sixth with a time of 4:24.97 to score his first conference points in the event at the GLIAC meet. The top six in the event were all within a span of 4:24.26-4:24.97.
• Also on the distance circuit, junior Dylan Rocha picked up two GLIAC place-winning performances. The junior finished fifth in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:33.38, while earning an eighth place finish in the 5000-meter run in 16:01.72. Rocha's five second PR in the steeplechase puts him second in school history in the eveent.
• The men's javelin throw saw two place-winning performances. In just his second javelin competition, Gharsalli hit a mark of 50.20 meters (164 feet-8 inches) to finish second in the event for his first All-GLIAC performance in the event. Junior Ben Quella placed fourth with a toss of 48.59 meters (159 feet-5 inches) for his second Top 8 performance to help give Northwood 13 points in the event.
• To close out the meet, the 4x400 meter relay team of senior John King, Mancillas-Finnerty, Bent, and Phillips teamed up for a sixth-place finish in the relay (3:23.72).

WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD

• The high jump saw junior Heaven Powell claim a second-place finish in the event with a clearance of 1.69 meters (5 feet-6.5 inches). This would be her second conference place-winning performance of her career in the outdoor high jump.
• Senior Madison Arnouts earned a podium finish in the 400 meter hurdles. Arnouts qualified for the 400-meter hurdle finals in 1:02.80, then ran a new NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:01.84 en route to her third-place finish in the finals. She closed out her final GLIAC meet as a three-time place winner and the GLIAC Champion in the event a year ago.
• Senior Dana Turner turned in a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a seasonal best of 5.53 meters (18 feet-1.75 inches) to match her collegiate career best. This was Turner's first GLIAC place-winning performance of her career.
• In the hammer throw, senior Carly D'Almeida placed seventh at 50.25 meters (164 feet-10 inches). This would be her first GLIAC place-winning performance in the event.
• Junior Riley Johnson threw the javelin 35.60 meters (116 feet-9 inches) to earn a fourth-place finish for her first GLIAC place-winning performance.
• There were three finalists in the discus throw for the Timberwolves. Freshman Jessica Marvin placed sixth with a distance of 39.99 meters (131 feet-2 inches) for a new PR by more than two meters and to move herself into fifth in school history. Sophomore Hannah Gearhart finished eighth at 35.88 meters (117 feet-8 inches), and Johnson ninth at 35.27 meters (115 feet-8 inches). This would be the first conference place-winning efforts of their careers for Marvin and Gearhart in the discus.

MEET NOTES

• The men scored 68 points to finish fifth in the team standings for their most points scored since 2009 (81), while the women scored 30 points to finish ninth for their highest point total sine 2012 (33).

UP NEXT

• Athletes looking to qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will go to last chance meets throughout the following week/weekend.